'Breaking Bad' finale draws record ratings, buzz

"Breaking Bad" went out with a bang on Sunday night as the show's series finale generated record ratings.

According to AMC, the 75-minute swan song delivered 10.3 million viewers. That's a remarkable 300 percent increase over last year's season finale.

Even the "Talking Bad" post-show discussion program was a big hit, drawing an audience of 4.4 million.

And in a sign of the social media times, "Breaking Bad" generated 1.24 million tweets from 601,370 unique users, according to AMC. The show hit a peak of 22,373 tweets-per-minute just as the episode began in the East, and at last count, a Bryan Cranston tweet -- "Well, this is it... Thank you for sharing this ride with me..." -- had generated more than 51,000 retweets and nearly 34,000 "favorites."

Well, this is it. The last episode ever of Breaking Bad. Thank you for sharing this ride with me. Without you we never would have lasted.